Spiders walk along the Avon River

Trapdoor spiders often emerge from their burrows after rain - but why?

Newly matured male spiders emerge from their burrows and go looking for a mate, after spending anywhere from three to seven years living exclusively underground.

If you live in the micro-world, moist soil is perfect for digging in - so many types of juvenile trapdoor spider emerge after rains to start excavating their own private burrows. It's important for them to find a good spot, as they will stay there for life!!

This Mouse Spider (Missulena spp.) was walking along with purpose under some Jam (Acacia accuminata) trees down by the Avon River in Northam. He seems to know where to go, but he'd better look out - there's an army of obstacles for him to avoid, like:

• large hungry centipedes looking for a bite to eat,
• cunning wasps who would might carry them away;
• sharp eyed magpies and butcher birds who watch for tasty spiders at dawn and dusk, and
• racehorse goanna's and bandicoot's who can dig them out of their burrows!

No wonder he's moving so fast!

So, if you see a big spider walking along the ground this winter/autumn, spare a thought for the hard times it has overcome to get that far and take a moment to watch it go along on it's way.

Do feel free to take a picture though, and send it to info@wheatbeltnrm.org.au so Wheatbelt NRM can help you find out a bit more about it.

The last one we had someone ask us about was a brand new species all together!

Biodiversity Hotspots

Global biodiversity hotspots 

Australia is one of seventeen countries described as being 'megadiverse'. This group of countries has less than 10% of the global surface, but support more than 70% of the biological diversity on earth.

The concept was first developed by Russell Mittermeier in 1988, as a way to prioritise conservation action.

 

Map showing location of 'Megadiverse' countries

National biodiversity hotspots

The Australian Government announced 15 national biodiversity hotspots in October 2003. Whilst international biodiversity hotspots have been identified for some time, this was the first attempt to identify biodiversity hotspots at the national scale.

These 15 areas are examples of locations that contain particularly high levels of biodiversity under threat. 

10. Central and Eastern Avon Wheatbelt (Western Australia)

The dominant vegetation of this area includes woodlands of Wandoo, York Gum, Salmon Gum, Casuarina and some areas of proteaceous scrub heaths. The woodlands contain many of Western Australia's threatened plants and birds. 

The area is particularly rich in endemic plants - Grevilleas, Hakeas, Eucalypts, Acacias, Eriostemons, and the Asteracea family - and invertebrates, particularly ground-dwelling spiders.

 

Most of the native vegetation has been cleared for agriculture and grazing, leading to extensive salinity problems over one-third of the area. Remnant vegetation, wetlands, river systems, populations of species and ecosystems are in poor condition, and the fragmentation of vegetation means an increased threat of weeds, fire, and feral animals.

Sedimentation, salination and other pressures such as water diversion and water pollution threaten the area's nationally important wetlands.

For detailed info on the flora and fauna of the Avon Wheatbelt IBRA Region visit the Biodiversity Programs resources page.

For more information about Biodiversity Hotspots visit this link, or contact Wheatbelt NRM on info@wheatbeltNRM.org.au